By January 2026, 82% of all practicing U.S. physicians were employed by hospitals or corporate entities, up from 52% at the start of 2018, according to an Avalere study sponsored by Physicians Advocacy Institute.
The study, published May 13, analyzed biannual data from IQVIA’s OneKey database spanning January 2018 through January 2026, tracking physician employment and practice ownership across unique National Provider Identifiers and practice locations.
Editor’s note: The study’s methodology notes that physician-owned Professional Corporations may be miscategorized as “corporate-owned,” meaning the share of truly independent physicians could be higher than reported.
Here are 10 more stats to know:
1. 253,000 physicians lost independence over 8 years. Over the full study period, 253,000 additional physicians became employed by hospitals or corporate entities, 48,100 of those in just the last two years.
3. Hospitals alone employ nearly 60% of all physicians; 59.7% of U.S. physicians were hospital-employed by January 2026, with hospital employment nearly doubling over the eight-year period.
4. Corporate physician employment surged 92%. Corporate entities, including insurers and private equity, grew their physician workforce from roughly 77,800 to roughly 149,600, a 92.3% increase since 2018.
5. Only 1 in 3 practices are physician-owned. Just 36.1% of physician practices remained independently owned by January 2026, down 48.5% from the start of the study period.
6. Hospitals and corporate entities now own 64% of practices; 63.9% of all physician practices were owned by hospitals or corporate entities by January 2026. This is a 114% percent increase from 2018, up from 29.8%.
7. 85,000 practices were acquired over 8 years. Hospitals and corporate entities acquired 85,000 physician practices between 2018 and 2026, with 13,900 of those acquisitions occurring in just the last two years.
8. Corporate entities now own more practices than hospitals. Corporate entities own 33.2% of practices vs. hospitals at 30.6% — corporate practice ownership grew staggering 176.8% since 2018.
9. 152,200 fewer independent physicians over 8 years. The number of physicians practicing independently fell by 152,200 over the study period, down to just 120,900 by January 2026.
10. Practice consolidation accelerated in 2025. Hospital practice acquisitions grew 8.4% over the last two years and specifically accelerated in 2025, while corporate practice ownership continued growing in every six-month period analyzed throughout the study.
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